The Trump administration has pushed back its plans to roll out economic aid for farmers this week due to the government shutdown, according to four people familiar with the talks.
The Office of Management and Budget has readied between $12 billion and $13 billion to be allocated from an internal USDA account, some of which could be used to fund the bailouts for farmers hurt by President Donald Trump’s tariffs and other economic headwinds, according to the four people with knowledge of the decision, all granted anonymity to share private details.
No final decision has been made on just how much of the money will go toward farm aid, the people said, and the package won’t be coming out any time soon. The timeline has been further delayed because some USDA political appointees have been furloughed during the shutdown.
Officials have been weighing using tariff revenue, USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation fund and other alternative methods to alleviate farmers’ financial stress. There’s precedent: Trump tapped USDA’s internal fund to dole out $28 billion worth of bailouts during his first-term trade war with China.
